Ladder attachment.



R. & W. HOLDORF. LADDER ATTACHMENT;

APPLIGATION FILED APR.29.1910.

mm., Pantea 00t.4,1910.

ROBERT HOLDORE AND WILLIAM HOLDORF, OF LA GRANGE, ILLINOIS.

LADDER ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 4, 1910.

Application filed April 29, 1910. Serial No. 558,340.

This invention relates to an attachment` for ladders especially adaptedfor use by tinners, cornice makers, painters, sign hangers, and thelike, the attachment being of such a nature that the upper end of theladder can be supported away from the house or other building so thatthe workman can readily reach the wide eaves or cornices now so commonlyused on buildings.

The invention has for its principal object to provide an extremelysimple, effective and practical ladder attachment of the characterreferred to by which the user can place and support the upper end of theladder' at any desired point away from the wall against which the ladderis set.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a ladder attachmentwhich can be readily applied or removed and whereby the ladder can bemoved toward or away from the wall to any desired extent by amanipulation of an adjusting screw.

lVith these objects in View, and others as will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention comprises the various novel featuresof construction and arrangement of parts which will be more fullydescribed hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claimsappended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates one embodiment of theinvention ,M Figure l is a perspective view of the upper' portion of aladder with the attachment applied thereto and in use. Fig. 2 is ahorizontal section showing the attachment in plan. Fig. 3 is aperspective View of the swinging nut through which the adjustment screwworks. Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

Similar reference characters are employed to designate correspondingparts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawing, A designates a ladder to which is applied theattachment, designated generally by B whereby the upper end of theladder can be indirectly supported by a wall of a building at anydesired distance from such wall so as to permit painters, tinners andthe like to place themselves in better position for working on cornicesor other projecting parts of buildings.

The attachment B comprises a base piece l, which engages the wallagainst which the ladder is to be set, said base piece being in the formof a bar having oppositely extending feet 2 at its extremities to bearagainst the wall of the building, the said feet being pointed at 3 tobite into the wall and thus prevent slipping. Attached to the centralportion of the base piece l is a socket 4 which receives t-he enlargedend or ball 5 of the adjusting screw 6, which serves to hold the upperend of the ladder in spaced relation with the wall of the building. Thescrew engages a nut 7, which is suitably attached to the ladder, and forturning the screw, the front end thereof is provided with an operating`crank, whereby the Workman can swing the ladder inwardly or outwardly bythe mere turning of the screw. The nut 7 is connected with the ladder bya cross brace or bar 9 composed of two seotions a and Z) that have theirinner ends connected together by a coupling l0, which is threaded on thesaid ends. The outer ends of the sections are formed with dependingmembers ll that engage in sockets or eyes l2 fastened to the inner facesof the side bars 13 of the ladder. At the ends of the coupling l0, thetwo sections of the brace or attaching bar 9 are anges forming annularshoulders 14, and confined between these shoulders is a sleeve l5fastened to and forming a part of the nut 7, the axis of the sleevebeing disposed at right angles to the axis of the screw. By making theattaching device 9 into two parts as described, the nut can be readilyremoved or the parts easily assembled. By means of the sleeve, the nutcan have a swinging movement as the ladder is moved inwardly andoutwardly, it being understood that as a ladder swings on its lower' endas a center, the nut 7 will move in an arc of a circle, whereas thescrew will swing in a vertical plane about the ball and socket joint asa center.

In operation, the ladder is first raised and placed at the desired pointwith respect to the building on which work is to be done and the upperendof the ladder will be set against the wall while the lower end restson the ground, the attachment being fully retracted and suspended on theladder. The

workman then scales the ladder and adjusts the attachment so that thescrew will be horizontal and the base piece will engage the wall. rlhescrew is then turned to move the ladder away trom the wall to thedesired point. ln taking down the ladder, the screw is reversed so as toretract the base piece and when retracted, the screw can swing down toposition parallel with the ladder.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, the advantages of the construction and of the method ot'operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to whichthe invention relates, and while we have described the principle ofoperation of the invention, together with the device which we nowconsider to be the best embodiment thereof, we desire to have itunderstood that the device shown is merely illustrative and that suchchanges may be made when desired as are within the scope of the claims.

Vhat we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is z 1. In aladder attachment, the combination of a wall engaging bar like basepiece, a screw connected with and extending' at right angles to the basepiece, a device constructed for connection with a ladder, and a nut onthe device engaging the screw.

Q. In a ladder attachment, the combination of a wall engaging basepiece, an adjusting screw, a ball and socket joint between the screw andbase piece, a brace bar adapted to be connected with the ladder, and aswinging nut on the said bar and in which the screw is threaded.

3. ln a ladder attachment, the combination ot' a wall-engaging basepiece, an adjusting screw, a ball and socket between the screw and basepiece, a device for connection with the ladder consisting ot' separablesections, a nut swiveled between the sections and with which the screwengages, and means on the screw for turning the same.

4. In a ladder attachment, the combination of a wall-engaging device inthe form ot a bar having terminal feet, a socket at the middle of thebar, a screw having a ball disposed in the socket, and a device foroperatively connecting the screw with a ladder.

5. In a ladder attachment, the combination of a device adapted to beconnected with the ladder, said device comprising members and a couplingconnecting the members together, a nut, a sleeve on the coupling andconnected with the nut and disposed at right angles thereto, a screwthreaded in the nut, and a wall-engaging device carried by the screw.

6. In a ladder attachment, the combination of a brace bar composed ofalining sections having threaded inner ends, a coupling engaging thethreaded ends for securing the parts together, a sleeve surrounding thecoupling, means for holding the sleeve against longitudinal movement, anut disposed at right angles to and connected with the sleeve, a screwthreaded in the nut, means for turning the screw, a wall engagingdevice, and a iiexible joint between the screw and device.

T. A ladder including side bars having sockets on their inner faces,with an attachment comprising a brace bar having depending extremitiesengaging in the sockets, a nut extending at right angles to the bar,means for operatively connecting the screw with the bar, means forturning the screw, and a device on the end otl the screw for engaging awall.

S. The combination of a ladder including side bars, with an attachmentincluding a brace bar having its ends connected withA the side bars or'the ladder, an adjusting screw, a swinging nut on the central part ofthe brace bar and with which the screw engages, means on the front endof the screw for turning the same, and a device on the opposite end ofthe screw for engaging a wall.

In testimony whereof we aiiix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

ROBERT HOLDORF. VILLIAM HOLDORF.

Vitnesses z GLENN M. SLAwsoN, ELsIE HoLDoRF.

